Media mogul Oprah Winfrey was dethroned as the most influential celebrity in the United States by Steven Spielberg, according to an annual study by Forbes magazine that was dominated by film directors.
Spielberg's most recent film, "Lincoln," which earned 12 Oscar nominations last year including best picture and best direction, and grossed $275 million at the global box office, was a huge booster in influencing this decision, Reuters reported.
Having grossed $93 million in foreign markets, "Lincoln" was able to attract foreigners to a U.S. drama about the back-room dealings and minutiae of 19th-century Washington politics. The 67-year-old director's ability to stir so much attention toward this topic spoke volumes about his accomplishment, Forbes said.
According to Reuters, Forbes said that 47 percent of people surveyed rated Spielberg as influential.
"A celebrity's 'Influential' score represents how that person is perceived as influencing the public, their peers, or both," Gerry Philpott, president of E-Poll Market Research, which conducted the study for Forbes, told the magazine.
The 59-year-old Winfrey slipped down to 45 percent this year after having topped the list with 49 percent last year, Forbes said. This might have been due to her retreat from the spotlight while running her cable television network OWN.
According to Reuters, despite working little and not being in the public eye in recent years, "Star Wars" creator George Lucas placed third. He sold his Lucasfilm company to Walt Disney Co for $4.05 billion in October 2012.
Directors Ron Howard and Martin Scorsese were placed fourth and fifth on the list respectively. Television physician Mehmet Oz, ABC TV journalist Barbara Walters and U2 singer and activist Bono were among other high-ranking celebrities in the top 10 of the list. More than 6,600 celebrities were judged on 46 personality attributes and ranked by E-Poll Market Research.
Forbes did not say how many people participated in the survey, Reuters reported.
